Portland Trail Blazers vs. Washington Wizards game preview

Wizards (8-30) at Trail Blazers(20-20)7 p.m. Monday at the Rose GardenTV on CSN (Comcast 37); radio on KEX (1190, 102.3)

Washington's projected starters

No.

Name

Height

Position

Statistics

12

A.J. Price

6-2

PG

8.8 ppg, 4.7 apg

3

Bradley Beal

6-5

SG

13.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg

9

Martell Webster

6-7

SF

9.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg

42

Nene

6-11

PF

12.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg

50

Emeka Okafor

6-10

C

8.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg

Portland's projected starters

No.

Name

Height

Position

Statistics

0

Damian Lillard

6-3

PG

18.3 ppg, 6.6 apg

2

Wesley Matthews

6-5

SG

15.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg

88

Nicolas Batum

6-8

SF

16.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.4 apg

12

LaMarcus Aldridge

6-11

PF

20.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg

21

J.J. Hickson

6-9

C

12.3 ppg, 11.0 rpg

About the Blazers: The Blazers have lost a season-high five consecutive games, all by six or fewer points. The most recent defeat came Saturday night, when the Blazers fell 110-104 to the Milwaukee Bucks. ... Each of the Blazers' last nine games have been decided by six or fewer points, the longest run in franchise history. ... Batum ranks third in the NBA in three-pointers made with 98. He needs 23 more threes to tie Clyde Drexler for fourth place on the franchise all-time list. ... Although the Blazers' last five losses have been close, it has taken a titanic comeback in each game to make it so. In four of the last five losses, the Blazers have trailed by double digits — 22 vs. Milwaukee, 19 vs. Cleveland, 11 vs. Oklahoma City and 20 at Golden State. They trailed by nine in their loss at Denver. ... The Blazers have won nine games this season when trailing at halftime, the second-most in the NBA behind Indiana (10).

About the Wizards: Washington owns the worst record in the NBA, but four of its eight wins have come during the last six games. One was an impressive 112-108 victory at the Denver Nuggets, who are 15-3 at home. ... Tonight is the fourth game of a five-game West Coast trip for the Wizards, who are 2-17 on the road this season. ... Former No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick John Wall returned Jan. 12 after missing the entire season with a left patella injury and the Wizards are 3-2 since his return. Wall, who is coming off the bench, is averaging 15.6 points, 7.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds in five games. He scored a season-high 24 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. ... Lillard is the clear frontrunner for NBA Rookie of the Year, but Beal is his stiffest challenger. He was December's Rookie of the Month and in 10 January games, the shooting guard from Florida is averaging 18.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while shooting 60.4 percent from three-point range. On Wednesday, he scored a career-high 26 points in a loss at Sacramento. ... Reserve guard Jordan Crawford leads the Wizards in scoring (15.0 points per game) and is averaging career-highs in assists (4.5) and rebounds (3.8). ... The Wizards are the only NBA team to have 11 different players record double-doubles this season.

Series history: After losing their first 12 games, the Wizards defeated the Blazers 84-82 Nov. 28 in Washington, claiming their first victory of the season. The Blazers own a 52-48 all-time edge in the series, which includes a 31-18 advantage in Portland.

Injuries: For the Blazers, guard Elliot Williams (left Achilles) will not play and center Meyers Leonard (right ankle) is questionable. Cartier Martin (hyperextended left knee) is out for the Wizards.